


smoke and mirrors

by theladiesyouhate



Category: Boardwalk Empire
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Canon Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Character studies, Gen, References to Incest, References to Non-Canonical Characters, References to Sexual Assault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-04
Updated: 2015-05-04
Packaged: 2018-03-28 22:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3872782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theladiesyouhate/pseuds/theladiesyouhate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nucky Thompson isn’t one of the lucky ones who gets born with some kind of supernatural power.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <i>(Or, thirteen character studies in an AU in which some characters have powers and others have to make do with what they have)</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	smoke and mirrors

**Author's Note:**

> So Aubrey prompted Boardwalk Empire + superpowers for a five headcanon AU post and it exploded. This is the result. This is only the second Boardwalk Empire fic I've written, and it's unbetaed and written in one afternoon, so please be gentle with me.
> 
> I also reference the character of Sid Rothman from the show Mob City as existing as part of the Boardwalk 'verse (in particular, I reference him in both Benny's and AR's sections). For those who have not watched the show, Sid is Benny's right hand man, and they have a very Meyer/Charlie-esque relationship. As I tend to headcanon both shows existing in the same universe, I couldn't help but mention him. Also, I'm used to writing Mob City fic, so I found it hard to write Benny without mentioning Sid at least once. If that troubles you, I apologize.

1. 

Nucky Thompson isn’t one of the lucky ones who gets born with some kind of supernatural power.

His brother is, and it’s the one thing Nucky is jealous of. Eli doesn’t deserve his power, not in the slightest. Does he know how lucky he is, to be able to read minds? That kind of power could take a man far in life. When he tells the Commodore about it, the man remarks “maybe I’m training the wrong brother.”

That pushes Nucky almost more than the hunger in his own gut. If he doesn’t have all the tools, he’ll fucking make them himself. He’ll work twice as hard, be ready to do twice as much, and then no one will care if he’s got a power or not. 

So he claws his way to the top and crowns himself king of the whole damn mountain through sheer tenacity alone. In his quiet moments, he’s congratulatory. Who needs powers when you’ve got talent like this?

No one tells him how lonely it is to be king. He learns that the hard way. 

 

2. 

Her first husband used to laugh at her power. Of course he would. Margaret knows her power isn’t exactly the stuff of heroes and legends. Empathy isn’t seen as being something special or important.

Still, she finds it a useful gift. Not only as a mother, but as a person. She can see a person’s pain, can understand it deeply and innately. If God gave her such a power, He must want her to use it to help others.

That’s what draws her to Nucky, at first. She watches him speak and can feel the pain radiating off him. She thinks it’s a sign, that she has to help him, to heal his loneliness somehow. She mistakes it for love. Or maybe she doesn’t. Maybe she does come to love him. But if there’s one lesson she learned, it’s that love isn’t necessarily healthy or meant to last. 

Her empathy proves to be as useful in aiding her be a saint as it does helping her sin. Being able to sense the emotions of the men around her helps her navigate the world with ease. She still loves, and loves deeply. She tries to help when she can - in his final years, she thinks she does more to tend to Mr. Rothstein than others - but her gift now becomes a weapon, a tool to help her carve a place for herself in a world that so long rejected her.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God,” she used to pray. Though she’s not stepped in a church for years, she still maintains a degree of faith. Her empathy is a gift, and she has finally been blessed. Even if she made those blessings herself.

 

3. 

No one knows for sure what Arnold Rothstein’s power is. Some say he’s a telepath. Others just say he’s got a gift for the cards. Still others say he can read the future, know what bets to make.

Arnold laughs when he hears the rumors. His own power is nothing nearly so fancy, and his talent for gambling is his own. His power is simple. He can sense what other people’s gifts are. It’s a small talent to be sure, nothing showy or grand, but it comes in handy. 

He uses it to organize a small group of dedicated men in his organization. Charlie and his superhuman endurance. Meyer and his ability to cancel out other powers, something that will definitely be useful. He only meets Ben Siegel a few times, but a man with super strength could also come in handy, as could his quiet partner who can turn invisible. These are men who can help him organize this city, run New York smoothly. 

As it turns out, collecting people isn’t quite the same as having them as your friends. He does regret how things turned out with Charlie, but that’s the way the dice fell and how the deal with Masseria had to work out. He knows Meyer resents him as well; that is plain enough for anyone to tell. His wife hates him, and for good reason. He knows he’s been a poor husband.

That’s why Ms. Rohan fascinates him. He senses her gift when he first meets her at Thompson’s disgustingly decadent New Year’s Eve party, but when he meets her again in New York, he reaches out. For information mostly, and as the years pass, for friendship. She is kind even though he’s not quite sure he deserves that. 

When he lies dying, he wishes she were there, if only to share his suffering and soothe him one last time.

But that, he thinks fuzzily, would be very selfish indeed.

 

4. 

Charlie sometimes wishes he had a tougher gift.

Something big, flashy. Something destructive. He wishes he had Benny’s strength some times. It’d be easy to crush his enemies then, Masseria and Maranzano and all of them.

He’s not even sure he’s got a gift. AR confirms it for him one day, but when he explains it, it just sounds...weak. 

Superhuman endurance. 

Charlie’s always known he can take a punch and bounce back. He’s gone through enough shit in his life to know he’s a fighter, that he can handle what the world throws at him. At first, he hates the stupidity of his power. He could endure enough on his own.

As he gets older, it makes more sense. He has to endure the way AR turns his back on him, leaving him to Masseria. He endures the whispers of “Salvatore” that follow him, even as he grits his teeth and fights the urge to snarl “the name’s Charlie.” He endures the bullshit and bides his fucking time. If he can endure, then he will.

He’ll wait. He’ll survive. And then he’ll be a king.

5.

Meyer’s favorite thing about his own power is the advantage it gives him.

No one suspects him, or what he can do. They’re all caught up in their own arrogance, focused on the advantage of their own gifts. They don’t stop to think about what could happen if those gifts were taken away from them.

That is Meyer’s speciality.

He’s already a ferocious fighter on his own, but the added element of surprise of snatching away another man’s gift before going into the kill does add a sort of thrill to any violence he has to commit. It also helps keep situations peaceful; as much as he cares for Benny, there were times early on in their partnership where he had to put his hand on his shoulder and turn off his tremendous strength to prevent situations from devolving into a bloodbath.

He does apologize afterwards. He knows Benny hates being treated like a child.

The only person he never uses his own gift on is Charlie. He never openly declares this, but it’s a private gesture of trust. Besides, it evens the partnership. Charlie’s own power can never be used against Meyer, so it makes sense to return the favor. 

He does tell Charlie once, when they’re both drunk and victorious, finally the kings they deserve to be. It’s a sharp and vulnerable moment, but Charlie grins big and slurs a thank you and the moment passes into the blur of the night.

They never speak of it after that.

 

6\. 

Benny is strong. He’s also not a child.

Everyone treats him like a fuckin’ kid. He knows Meyer’s turned off his gift more than once, when Benny’s on edge and some jackass says something lookin’ for a fight, and that makes him almost madder than when people call him Bugsy. He doesn’t need to be treated like a goddamn child having a temper tantrum.

At least Sid listens to him. Seems like the only one some times.

Benny knows the limits of his strengths. Mostly that he doesn’t have a limit. He hasn’t lost a fight since he was five, and once he hits his late teens he can punch through walls and rip men in half. He’s a damn good fighter, but he’s more than that. More than a little pawn to get used in Thompson’s games with Charlie. 

He’s got plans of his own. He knows one day he’ll make something of himself, do something important that’ll leave an impression. He wants to build, to create, to be something special. To prove all those people who look at him like he’s some kind of lost cause wrong. 

He feels almost too big to contain in New York. Maybe he needs to go elsewhere, spread his wings. Sure, he’ll miss Meyer and Charlie, but he’s gotta do what feels right.

He’s got the strength to build himself something special. All he needs in the chance.

 

7.

Chalky knows he’s meant to be a father, a protector. His power shows as much.

Telekinesis is great for a lot of things. He can lift heavy loads without breaking a sweat. He can stop bullets in mid-air. But most importantly, it means he can shield his family as much as he can, at least from physical threats.

It makes him the unchallenged king too. At least until Narcisse comes in, with his silver tongue. Chalky can save the day from a bullet but he can’t block the lies the devil himself is spinning. He fights as best he can, but at the end of the day it’s too much.

He doesn’t think to stop the bullet and protect Maybelle, during that stand-off in the Onyx. He doesn’t think - after all, that sharpshooter is supposed to be the best out there - and then there’s a shot and she’s gone and he failed. He failed to keep his family safe.

He barely uses his power after that. There’s no need. No reason to. The only thing it’d be good for is to snap Narcisse’s neck from a distance. 

But in the end he doesn’t get that chance. He could’ve, could’ve ended it all when he had the chance, but there’s a new little girl to save. If he couldn’t protect his first family, maybe he can save his second. Find a different way to shield them from the horrors of the world.

So he doesn’t snap Narcisse’s neck. And when the time comes, he doesn’t stop the bullet either.

 

8.

His mother tells him his power makes him a man of the new age.

“Controlling electricity is very modern,” she tells Jimmy when he first manifests it. “This is clearly a sign that you’re destined for greatness, if you’ve got the future in your veins.”

Nucky is equally as impressed. “A man of the times,” he says proudly, clapping Jimmy on the shoulder. “Just always use it for good, kiddo.”

And Jimmy does try to use it for good. Or whatever Nucky deems to be good. But then the war comes and it’s a defense, a way to protect himself against the enemy. He’s not the only soldier with a gift but his own ability to destroy terrifies the hell out of him. He is a one man army all on his own. A true modern man.

He comes back from war shaken and unable to accept the future Nucky has set out for him. Things keep spiraling out of control and he’s losing his grip as much as he tries to regain control of his life, his family, and then his power in Atlantic City.

And then Angela dies. He explodes all the lights in a two block radius out of grief, because he’s lost, he’s lost it all if Angela died because of him. And then his power is gone. 

It rains the day he dies, as if the heavens themselves want to ensure he can’t use his gift. He’s already to numb to reach for it. Maybe he died in the trenches, like he says. Maybe he died when Angela did, or when he killed his father.

Either way, thunder booms and lightening crackles overhead and he welcomes death with open arms.

9.

Gillian’s power is born from her pain.

She lies and tells herself it’s like in a story. Sometimes the heroine is hurt, but she emerges from it stronger, more powerful. She is no mere girl. She’s a goddess, a figure from legend.

Men, she finds, are easy to manipulate. All it takes is her batting her eyes seductively and using a honey sweet voice and they’re putty in her hands. She gets enough to keep herself and Jimmy alive, as looked after as they can be. Nucky tries to make amends by looking after Jimmy, and as much as it burns her she accepts that little attempt at charity. She will bide her time. She will one day have her revenge against him. Against the Commodore.

Jimmy is the only one she knows truly loves her. All these men, she can never tell if it’s just because she plays with their feelings or if they do truly have affection for her. But her Jimmy, he loves her, purely and unconditionally. She thinks she knows how to love him back.

But of course, she cannot be happy. Her son is taken away from her by the same man that stripped her of her own innocence and God, she swears revenge even more. She will be the siren who lures the great ship Nucky Thompson has built for himself to dash upon the rocks. She will drown him in her grief and pain. She will make him understand.

But the stories never end quickly, so she waits for the right moment to crush him.

The real tragedy, she doesn’t know, is that she’ll never see that day herself.

 

10.

Richard never misses a shot until the end.

That’s his special gift. It makes him a valuable asset as a soldier. But when the war ends, it doesn’t leave him with much else. 

He befriends Jimmy, not because Jimmy is the only one who understands but because Jimmy reaches out to him, extends a hand in friendship. He brings along his wife, who seems to understand Richard more than she does her husband, and their son, a tiny, precious thing that Richard wants to protect more than anything. After all, Tommy is both Jimmy and Angela combined. He’s a sign that maybe there is moving on, after the war.

But the war never stops. Jimmy goes back to war, and he and Angela are both the casualties. He goes to war with Gillian over keeping the memory of Angela alive, and just when he thinks he might have the same escape Jimmy did — Julia and her father, a new family, a place to come home — the war flares to life in a new way and he has to fight for Tommy’s life, for his own. 

He is a soldier. He will keep fighting. But he doesn’t want to any more.

He tries to make amends. Tries to go home to Emma. Tries to be father to Tommy and husband to Julia. But there’s still one job left for him, one last battle to fight.

He misses only one shot in his life. 

He doesn’t want to fight. He wants to go home, and that desire is enough to distract him for a heartbeat.

And then it’s all over. 

He stumbles into the darkness until he can’t go any farther. He slumps over under the boardwalk, the mask sliding off his face. He can hear the ocean. He can see the sunrise.

He can see home. Emma. Tommy. Julia. Maybe even Jimmy and Angela.

The war finally ends.

 

11.

Nelson Van Alden is born with hellfire in his veins.

He knows his parents blame him for not bringing on Armageddon. After all, he was a child with the devil’s power. He must have been a sign of the end times.

When the end does not come, he becomes an avenging angel, bringing the sword of justice down on those unlucky enough to be caught by him. If he is not a devil then he must be a holy thing, sent down by the Almighty himself to rid the world of sin, to purify it and do the Lord’s work. It does not matter if the others mock him behind his back. He is better than them, intended for greater things.

Of course, when the mighty sin, there shall be consequences. For every rise there is a fall.

His sin with Lucy Danzinger ends his marriage. The sin of murdering his partner drives him into the arms of the Devil himself. Capone, with his ability to shake the earth itself, is more a demon than the fire he can control. But Nelson hides himself and his identity and works for him anyway, because there are no other options. To justify himself at first, he tells himself he is Daniel in the den with the lions. After a while, it just becomes work.

It is only at the end, when he realizes that his time has come, that he rises back to his holy calling. He chokes Capone with one hand and with the other raises a ball of fire, for he is ready to smite the wicked and once more serve as God’s right hand on Earth.

If anything could be said about his death, it was that he died on his own terms.

 

12.

Eli thinks Nucky should’ve gotten his gift. It’d help him keep running things smoothly, being able to hear thoughts the way Eli does. 

Besides, after a while, Eli dreads hearing thoughts. He hears Nucky’s resentment and jealousy, hears the bitterness with which he condemns him. Jimmy Darmody thinks him weak, the boys from New York find him to be a lesser version of Nucky, and he hears Willie distancing himself from him with every passing day.

Worst is the day he kills Tolliver. He hears his family’s thoughts amidst their cries, shouts of _Daddy!_ and _what’s happening please help_ and June’s terrified _Lord protect him please do not make me a widow please protect my family_. That fear and anguish burns worse than Nucky’s hate or the world’s disdain and it's what he carries with him when he runs. He has no other option but to run.

That’s why he starts drinking in Chicago. It numbs the thoughts, drowns them out so all he hears is his own voice in his head. The only hatred comes from himself. 

When the road leads him back to Atlantic City, he stands outside June’s door, sober and clean-shaven. He hears the quiet buzz of the neighborhood as he knocks on the door. When she opens it, they stare at each other. 

He hears her forgiveness before she opens her mouth and that’s the only time he has ever truly treasured his gift.

 

13.

Mickey knows he's been dealt a crappy hand in life. He didn't get one of those powers, or gifts, or whatever the hell they're called these days.

He’s just a really lucky bastard. 

Maybe that’s his power. Being lucky enough to cheat death time after time. Mickey thinks he’s got to have nine lives or something by now, with all the times he’s had a gun pointed at him and manages to avoid getting shot. 

“How the hell are you still alive?” Eli Thompson asks him once. Mickey just giggles and doesn’t offer a real answer.

As the bodies pile up around him, Mickey really starts to believe he’s got something going for him. A guardian angel if nothing else. Maybe he is lucky. Maybe he’s immortal.

Hell, being powered doesn’t mean shit. Men like Darmody and Rosetti had powers, they still ended up in the dirt. Even Arnold Rothstein couldn’t dodge a bullet. They all had their little gifts and those couldn’t save them. But Mickey’s still here. Him and Nucky. 

Maybe they’re the really special ones. They’ve got the luck.

Of course, Mickey realizes at the end, even luck runs out.

If he could breathe, he might think it was funny his end came about thanks to a guy named Lucky. 

 


End file.
